Chapter 45: Mind Manipulation

(Su Xin)

"That's where we'll end the first meeting of the Ghost Hunting Team. Are there any questions?"

I glanced at the Yu brothers. From the beginning of our first meeting until now, Yu Yan has shown himself to be reliable, with his sharp intelligence, quick analysis of information, and strategic planning. He's almost perfect in every way. However, he also has some negative aspects. Firstly, he's selfish. Secondly, he's a bit of a coward. Most importantly, his biggest weakness is his younger brother, Yu Hai.

On the night of the plan to capture the Revenge Ghost, when he learned that Yu Hai was in danger, he abandoned everything. He completely lost his mind and ran without thinking or planning to save his younger brother. In reality, upon further reflection, I could see that Yu Yan has some sort of emotional trauma. This isn't uncommon for someone who has been to the battlefield before. In the end, Yu Yan is still acceptable despite all his flaws.

I shifted my gaze from Yu Yan to his younger brother, Yu Hai. The only way to describe this boy is as a walking disaster. True, in our first meeting, this young boy showed a pure heart. But beyond this positive point, he has nothing else to offer. Whether in strategy or in managing battles, this boy is a moving catastrophe!

But I can't blame him, considering this is his first time participating in a real mission and facing a real enemy. Especially since his first enemy is someone as dangerous as the Revenge Ghost. Even I failed to deal with him, so it's not fair to blame Yu Hai for mishandling such a dangerous foe.

I thought this boy would become more serious after the loss to the Revenge Ghost and would focus more on improving himself. But unfortunately, he completely disappointed me. Instead of focusing on avenging the insult from the Revenge Ghost, he started thinking about dating that girl, Feng Yan. Even after she left, he kept thinking about her as if one glance from her completely captivated his heart. Throughout the meeting, he was thinking about her and not paying attention to the content at all.

What a disappointment!

Speaking of Feng Yan, I recalled the aura of that young girl, which was unusually high. Her ethereal and calm aura was extremely exaggerated, almost equal to that of Yu Yue, the main daughter of the Yu family, which is very strange to me!

From what I know about the aristocratic families in the Iron Kingdom, the main daughter of a family is the one who receives an immense amount of expensive resources containing very high spiritual energy. This is to ensure that her body has a high quality in terms of beauty, talent, abilities, and many other aspects. This makes marrying her very challenging.

For this reason, Yu Yue, being the main daughter of the Yu family, possesses a very strong ethereal aura. This is natural because the Yu family provided her with all kinds of spiritual resources, alchemical pills, and magical elements. Yu Yue's level shows the wealth and immense power of the Yu family.

But it was very suspicious that Feng Yan's aura surpassed Yu Yue's. Even though Feng Yan introduced herself as the main daughter of a military family, it's expected that her family, no matter how small, would concentrate many resources on Feng Yan to make her of high quality. But it was too exaggerated for her aura to surpass Yu Yue's.

This is very strange.

…

"Excuse me, but I need to leave. With your permission!" (Yu Hai)

Yu Hai interrupted my thoughts. He stood up quickly from his seat and started to leave before I or his brother could respond. When I looked at his facial expressions, I knew he wanted to catch up with that girl, Feng Yan. This boy is hopeless.

Yu Yan moved quickly to stop his younger brother from leaving. But I noticed this and stopped him. He gave me a strange look, asking why I stopped him. Although I find Yu Yan's excessive concern annoying, I also envy him. I wish my relationship with my younger brother was like that between these two brothers. But unfortunately, reality is very different.

I snapped out of my deep thoughts, smiled to ease the tension between us, and then spoke:

"Yu Yan, I need to speak with you privately. Do you have some time?"

"Of course, Mr. Su. How can I help?" (Yu Yan)

"Don't worry, I won't take long. I just want to know how you encountered the Revenge Ghost."

When Yu Yan heard this question, his facial expression changed a lot. When I saw that, I knew something was wrong. Yu Yan wiped his face with his hand and even his hair, then looked at the ceiling for a moment. He then lowered his head completely, resting his forehead on the table, and placed both hands on his face for a few moments. Then he started to lift his head again, looking at the ceiling, pulling his hair like a madman, and screamed:

"I can't remember! I can't remember anything at all! It's strange... I..."

Suddenly, he screamed in pain and banged his head on the table. When I saw this, I immediately took out a spiritual pill from my storage ring and gave it to Yu Yan. He took the pill and swallowed it in front of me. After that, his madness subsided.

Yu Yan was looking at the ceiling, his clothes soaked with sweat. His eyes were red, and he was breathing heavily without any rhythm, his heartbeat so loud I could hear it from my place without any effort at all. All these details clearly indicated:

Yu Yan was not acting at all, and there was a serious problem either with him or with the Revenge Ghost!

"Are you okay now?"

"I apologize, Mr. Su, for what happened earlier. Unfortunately, this is what happens every time I try to remember how I encountered the Revenge Ghost. All I remember is the moment when the Revenge Ghost's finger was suddenly on my forehead. I have no idea how he appeared suddenly or how I allowed him to place his finger on my forehead. All these questions and more remain unanswered, and every time I try to find a solution, I end up having a fit of madness like what just happened." (Yu Yan)

"I believe you, Yu Yan, but I want to know what you think the reason for your condition is. Surely you have some hypotheses that explain your situation, right?"

"You're right. I have some hypotheses that explain my condition. In short, the Revenge Ghost has a way to control his opponents' minds and manipulate their memories or actions. Although this seems illogical at first glance, think about it again. If the Revenge Ghost attacks a place, no martial artist survives at all! I mean, that's very strange. No matter how strong he is, he can't cover the sky with one hand, no matter how massive it is. One person can't kill all the gang members in their headquarters without anyone escaping! This question has been on my mind since the first time I saw the data collected by the scholars of the Pure Sword Temple. When I saw that data, I didn't believe it and thought to myself: Maybe the scholars made a mistake in this point!

But after Yu Hai told me the details of the Revenge Ghost's attack on the Falcons' gang headquarters, and specifically when he mentioned that the Falcons' martial artists were killing themselves brutally and insanely, I realized at that moment how no one escapes the Revenge Ghost's grip. The simple reason is that the Revenge Ghost has a way to control the minds of the martial artists, so he can manipulate everyone like puppets!

Of course, we can say his ability is limited, otherwise, the entire Ancient City would be under his complete control. If this is true, I can say he can't control people of the same level or stronger than him.

This is my humble hypothesis, Mr. Su." (Yu Yan)

My God, how did I not notice such a vital point? Truly, Yu Yan is a first-rate strategist. The ability to manipulate minds, then. This makes a lot of sense. Although it's terrifying, this hypothesis answers many questions. The Revenge Ghost has a way to control people's minds.

If the Revenge Ghost has such a tremendous ability, then he truly possesses unparalleled power. Without a doubt, I will change my plan from capturing the Revenge Ghost and handing him over to the Pure Sword Temple to capturing the Revenge Ghost and obtaining his mind-manipulating technique.

This ability will place me at the top of the Ancient City, no, it will place me at the top of the entire Iron Kingdom!

"I must obtain it at any cost!"